Getting pregnant

Now that I'm in the dead of the third trimester, I've found myself reflecting often on the adventure that Grant and I have embarked upon over the last year. I've done a lot of research (almost) every step of the way and wanted to share some of my findings.


Easy to find at a drugstore - pricey, but convenient.

Although I don't have any specific advice on the exact how-to of getting pregnant, I did find out some useful information about fertility windows. I am no expert and did not go all out measuring my temperature or scrutinizing my cervical mucous. I will note, though, that as you begin to test for ovulation, you will begin to pick up on the rhythm of your body. If you pay attention, the cervical mucous will become a good indicator for your "window of fertile opportunity," as I like to call it.

Being an all-out planner, I wanted to know that I was ovulating and when it was happening. For some reason, ovulation predictor tests seemed to me to be the most surefire way of knowing. After doing a bit of Walgreens research, I found out that these guys are pricey! The cheapest I could find was about $1/test strip. Since I had no idea when my ovulation was or if it was consistent from month to month, I saw that adding up all too quickly! 


These are wondfo test strips - blue is the ovulation predictor.
Find them here on amazon.com

After some google research, I found my new best friend, Wondfo! They are not as fancy as the others, but they come with easy to follow instructions and they helped me to discover my typical cycle so that I could begin predicting ovulation more accurately.

By the fourth month I was using them, I didn't even really need them anymore. Note that if you do not have a regular cycle, you will probably need to be much more observant and either use these religiously or look into other natural family planning methods of predicting ovulation, such as changes in cervical mucous.

Durian fruit

I'm not really sure what a Durian fruit is, but it is this week's "baby size" food! Not so much helpful on the comparison front, but fun to look up a new fruit. I will have to try one someday now that I've heard of it. :)

I'm tired this week, so I'm just going to dive right into symptoms. And...I'm tired because I haven't slept well at all. Despite my best pregnancy pillow support efforts, I just can't seem to get comfortable and stay cool at night. Overheating seems to be my biggest challenge right now. Extra pillows = mini space heater. Time is starting to slow down, but just a little. I will admit, though, that there are moments in which his birth seems light years away, especially when people say, "Not much longer now!" I will try to never say that to another pregnant woman. You start to believe it just a little and then realize that you still have weeks left! I'm not miserable or too uncomfortable...I just want to meet my blessing!

33 weeks

It is getting more ambiguous about how you are developing. The past couple of weeks have said much of the same thing - you are gaining weight through fat that will keep you warm when you enter the world. Your weight is also a mystery, but you likely weight about 4 and a half pounds and are about 17 inches long. Either way, I can tell that you are getting cramped in there because you are stretching out more, rather than kicking or making sharp movements. Doing your movement counts at night usually only takes about ten minutes, so you're still moving a lot!

We've been making some major progress on little projects around the house. They had somewhat built up over the holidays and because of our "major" construction in the basement. We even got the baby room moved around to an arrangement we like! The walls are still bare and the drawers are still empty, we still need to buy something to store toys and books, and we have a lot of decor to choose and put up. But, at least we now have the major pieces in place!

My biggest challenge right now is motivation to accomplish everything. We are mentally shifting focus to our upcoming role as mommy and daddy, including getting the baby here and breastfeeding and figuring out how this whole cloth diaper thing works. I'm sure we will have some fun stories to share along the way. :) Grant's been wonderful with trying to get things checked off of our list (the one I made, of course) and finish up the projects that need to be done before baby's arrival. Excitement and anticipation of what lies ahead seem to be our final motivation!

Love, the George family

Squash

We've been feeling and seeing little hiccups for a few weeks now, but they seem to be more frequent lately. During yoga one day this week, my belly was pulsing with hiccups while I was trying to balance. It was a bit distracting! :) Movement is increased by far at night, especially when I cuddle up next to daddy as I'm settling down in preparation for sleep. It can sometimes take me quite a while to fall asleep with the kicks, jabs, and all-over squirms. At the size of a squash this week, I wonder if I'm the one that resembles a squash on the inside!

Other than movement, symptoms are about the same. Heartburn has continued with a vengeance. Sometimes, even drinking water causes me to feel the familiar burn. It's not very fun, but I am thankful that I am healthy and not experiencing many other symptoms.

32 weeks

You are a sleepy guy this week, with about 90-95% of your days spent in dreamland. Even though you are sleeping a lot these days, your movements are becoming more pronounced and you are practicing your soccer kicks! Soft lanugo hair is starting to shed and your "real" hair is becoming thicker - we will see if the old wives tales about heartburn and hair is true. You continue to grow rapidly, weighing in around 4 lbs and spanning about 16.5 inches. Your birth weight will approximately double between now and your birthday!

Great news this week is that everything is going very smoothly! Our appointment went really well - bloodwork came back great, baby's heartrate is 136, and he's already head down. I've been feeling great lately now that I've recuperated from the holiday madness. We even went to the dentist this week and everything was great with my teeth - hooray!

We've scheduled out the rest of our appointments to the end of the pregnancy. I can't believe that it's close enough to do that! The reality is starting to sink in that we are having a baby, and soon!

Love, the George family

Our maternity photos were taken in the cold last week of December - brr! Not what I'd envisioned in my head when I dreamed about having my future pregnancy documented. BUT, they turned out really well. Thank you to faith inspired photography (check her out here: http://faith-inspiredphotography.blogspot.com/)!

Here are a few of our favorites:

We are so excited to meet our little guy!

Love, the George family

View from the castle

At the beginning of November, we took a wonderful trip to Disneyworld with Grant's family. The weather was near perfect almost the entire trip, it was busy but not crazy, and we got in on the beautiful Christmas decorations (well most of them, at least...they were being put up while we were there).

First night at Magic Kingdom

Self portrait on the carousel

Fireworks!

Toy Story Mania - one of our favorites!

Spectacle of lights at Hollywood Studios. See the bubbles?!

Hanging out at Animal Kingdom while the guys ride Expedition Everest

Safari at AK!

Too excited to be riding the new Ariel ride at the new Fantasyland in MK!!!

Awesome light show at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party :)

Main Street USA was so beautifully lit

Posing with Ariel in new Fantasyland

Mickey and gang!

The castle!!!

We were in the mood for Christmas cheer!

I wish we had more of the family pictures, but they were on other people's cameras and I haven't gotten those photos yet. Just a glimpse of our last vacation before baby - you can see him in my little bump! :)

Love, the George family

Pineapple

I'm tired. We had an especially busy first full week of the new year! I feel like we have accomplished a lot so far this year, and I also see how much we have left to do in preparation for baby. I feel like we have lots of time and no time at all.

My symptoms this week are a continuation of the past couple of weeks - starting to really FEEL pregnant. We purchased a maternity support belt over the weekend...it was heavenly when I tried it on. Of course, they didn't have my size in the store so we had to have one ordered and shipped to us. I think my constant repositioning during the night has made sleeping about as challenging for Grant. Baby is moving a LOT these days - he's been quite the little mover all along, but as he gets bigger, I can feel and see what he's doing all day long! It's usually not painful, and I'm enjoying it!

31 weeks makes your arrival feel really close!

Your arms, legs, and body continue to fill out this week, transforming you from a super skinny baby to the full-bodied little baby we will meet in a couple of months. At around three to four pounds, you're already gaining weight quickly and should continue to gain about half of a pound per week for the next several weeks. This week, you should be approximately 16 inches long - almost the length you'll be at birth! I can't imagine how you are going to continue to fit in my belly!

We are excited about the way that things are finally starting to come together. We still have a lot of plans of things that need to be finished in the next couple of months, but we are thankful that most of our bigger renovation projects are completed. I'm starting to think about organizing your room and it makes me excited to think about having everything all put in place and ready to go for you!

It's hard for us to think about all that needs to be finished and not know how much time we have left until you arrive. That's definitely the hardest part for me right now - I know that I should have plenty of time to get everything done, but I also try to remind myself that you don't need a whole lot at first and if everything doesn't get done, it will get done when it needs to be. We have almost all of the essential items that you'll need, so you will be well taken care of. We just want to make sure that everything is just right for you!

Love, the George family

Cucumber

It's nice to feel like we can start to settle back into our routine, for awhile at least. We dearly love Christmas, and the break it provides from daily life...and we (at least Cindy) are always glad to get back to normal :) Now that we are 30 weeks into this pregnancy, we are starting to feel the pressure of all that we have left to do. It feels all too soon!

The only bothersome symptom I've had this week is difficulty sleeping. It doesn't seem to matter how I position myself, I always wake up with a sore hip or sore ribs. It's hard to sleep on my side because my belly naturally tries to pull me forward. I will surely enjoy the ability to sleep again when that time comes! In the meantime, I'm slowly investing into the pillow industry :)

30 weeks and feeling great!

It's hard to believe that you are able to distinguish between natural and artificial light. Each week, you become more developed and ready to survive on your own. Despite your sometimes painful kicks, I will miss taking you with me everywhere that I go. Daddy loves to watch you move around - he gets a big smile on his face when he feels you kick or sees you squirm across my belly. At about three pounds and 15-16 inches long, you won't be able to stay in there too much longer, though. I will enjoy your little wiggles and hiccups as much as I can!

We have been hard at work this week preparing for our little bundle of joy! Daddy and Papa spent all day Saturday putting in a new heater so that our house will be a comfortable temperature year round...what a huge project that was! They are still working on it this week to finish some odds and ends. I am so thankful that we won't have to worry about our heating or air conditioning going out once the baby is here. I have been at fabric stores by myself, with grandma George, and great-grandma George three of the past four days looking for the perfect fabrics to go with the theme that we've picked out for the baby's room: Noah's ark. It's been a lot of work, but I think we've gotten almost everything picked out. Now, great-grandma is going to be hard at work making the quilt, crib skirt, and window covering! Needless to say, we're all a bit exhausted!

Last week was my routine lab work. We have no reason to believe that anything is wrong, and we will find out the results at our next appointment. Now that appointments are only 2-3 weeks apart, it feels like we hardly get a break! The hardest part of this phase of pregnancy is the increased amount of time that we need to spend to prepare everything for baby's arrival. We still need to pick out a name sometime, too! :)

Love, the George family